This update includes 786 files in the core library, including 474 new parts. A further 19 parts have been redeveloped by authors who have affirmed the Contributor Agreement, replacing files that were not redistributable. Only five "non-CA" files remain in the library and every effort is being made to replace those in the next update.

This is a further big step in reducing the backlog on the Parts Tracker and brings the number of files to its lowest level since September 2006. Thanks are due to everyone who created or corrected parts for this release and to those who have reviewed files in order to make this release happen.

The 160 certified files currently on the LDraw Parts Tracker were held back from this update in keeping with our normal practice of not releasing new primitives or subparts until they are needed for an official part file. Many of the further 337 files waiting for admin review should be included in the next release.

Why not have the best of both worlds? I can wreck Kerm's meticulously-laid railroad infrastructure and derail his trains with my army of escaped genetically-engineered dinosaurs! The people even come packaged in easy to use tin cans for the Tyrannosaur on the go!

If you were using MLCad, BrickSmith, or another program that uses MLCad.ini for minifig creation, I recommend downloading the latest update of that file, even if you had previously downloaded the 2011-02 release prior to last night. I caught an error in the formatting during development of FreeBuild's character selection interface and reported it to the maintainer who uploaded the fixed version sometime this morning. If you've never updated your MLCad.ini you may want to do so now anyway, so as to expand the range of pieces available to your minifig generator.

Get to it. Anything you build now in MLCad or Bricksmith (or any other LDraw compatible program) will be able to be brought in-game in Freebuild. You can also use them with POV-Ray and L3P to render high-quality instruction manuals for your personal designs.

Have your own thoughts to add to this or any other topic? Want to ask a question, offer a suggestion, share your own programs and projects, upload a file to the file archives, get help with calculator and computer programming, or simply chat with like-minded coders and tech and calculator enthusiasts via the site-wide AJAX SAX widget? Registration for a free Cemetech account only takes a minute.